Middle Earth Gets a Helping Hand
by Mike Kinkaid
Summary: Kami has decided that another world could use some help, and he thinks he knows just the man for the job. Lets see how he gets along in this new world and if Kami was right to trust him. Naruto, say hello... to Middle Earth.
1. Prologue

I don't own it. Get off our backs already.

Starting this story again, slowly. Go to chapter three for the bigger AN.

Words this Chapter: 5394

"Kyuubi Speaking"

"Normal Speaking"

'Normal Thinking'

"Well fuck..." mumbled Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, the protagonist of our story. He was wearing a horrendous orange outfit, that practically screamed, "Here I am, come kill me!", which wasn't such a great idea considering his profession. Currently, he had his back up against a wall, while sitting in ankle deep water. Looking around him, he saw what appeared to be a sewer, with blue and red pipes lining the ceiling. Following the red pipes, he turned his head towards the gigantic cage/cell that was next to him. In the center of cage was a small piece of paper, with the kanji for 'seal' written upon it. Taking another look around, the blond couldn't help but sigh.

"So I guess this is how it ends, huh. I gotta admit, I always thought I would have become Hokage before I died..." he said out loud, though mostly to himself. A few seconds later he heard a low, sinister sounding chuckle coming from inside the cell. Turning his head towards it again, he saw a large pair of blood red eyes, with slitted pupils, and a monstrous mouth, occupied by huge sinister teeth.

"**Well at least you were able to take down that Kami damned Uchiha Madara**." stated the Kyuubi, greatest of all the bijuu. A being so powerful, it was said to have been able to level mountains and create tsunamis with a single wave of one its nine tails.

"Yeah, I guess that is one good thing that came out of all this. I still can't believe everything that happened though." replied Naruto, thinking back to his last battle.

Flashback

Pain. That was all he knew as he began to rejoin the world of the conscious. He tried to open his eyes, but could barely make them open enough to be considered squinting. At first, all he could see was a blurry glow that seemed to be surrounding him. It took a few moments for them to adjust, but as the world around him came back into focus, Naruto wished that it hadn't. Looming over him was a giant statue.

Staring at the statue, he realized that the glow that was encircling him was being sucked into the giant statue's mouth (although at a very slow pace), and that each second that passed seemed to leave him feeling weaker than the last. He also noticed that the statue seemed to have 9 eyes. There was one in the center and the four on both of its sides. The 8 side eyes were wide open and each possessed a pupil that gave off an ominous glow. As the energy around him was sucked inside of the damned thing, the middle eye was opening, also at a very slow pace.

Finally realizing where he was, Naruto couldn't help but feel a surge of anger begin to fill him. He was in the Akatsuki's lair. They were in the process of dragging the Kyuubi out of the compex seal on his stomach. And seeing as there was only one eye that was not fully open, and the other 8 had vibrantly glowing pupils, it was safe to assume that he was the last of the Jinchuuriki...

And then the events leading up to his capture hit him like a boss summon. He had been on a secret island (well technically it was an insanely large turtle, but that wasn't important right now!) in Kumo with the only remaining Jinchuuriki. His name was Kiraa Bii, but he was most commonly referred to as Killer Bee. He had been the Hachibi (an octopus with an ox's head… a bit of an odd combination when you think about it) Jinchuuriki.

They had been inside of the turtle working on Naruto's "mission" to learn about the animals on the island. He had been arguing with Killer Bee about whether or not a giant armadillo was a male or female, when all of a sudden the entire turtle island shook violently.

Naruto, still thinking this was just some random mission, believed that it had been an earthquake. Wanting to make sure everything was okay outside he glanced over at Yamato.

"Hey Yamato-sensei, I am going to run outside and make sure everything is alright." After having informed his superior about his plan, he began walking towards the exit, which Killer Bee had already run through. Upon hearing Naruto's words, Yamato began to panic slightly.

"No! You can't go out there!" he yelled after his temporary charge.

Confused, Naruto turned back towards his sensei. He tilted his head slightly while squinted his eyes. "How come?" he asked simply.

"Umm... uh... You have to stay and finish studying the animals! You still have to complete your mission!" Yamato answered, after temporarily stumbling over himself in his mind. 'Please Kami-sama let him listen!'

He wasn't that lucky.

"Ya, but I have already cataloged most of the animals. It will only take me a sec."

'Damn, damn, damn, damn!' "No Naruto, as your superior officer and as your sensei I am ordering you to stay down here! You are the only one who can complete this mission." He hadn't wanted to pull the rank card, but he couldn't let Naruto figure out what was really going on. Unluckily for him, Naruto was known to have brief moments of intelligence, and he decided to have one at that very moment.

"What do you mean I am the only one who can complete this mission? As far as I can tell anyone would be able to do this mission, seeing as all I am doing is recording what types of animals are on this island as well as their gender." Something didn't feel right; Yamato-sensei was acting much too weird for it to simply be about the mission. He narrowed his eyes. "What are you hiding from me?"

"Wha... What are you talk... Talking about Naruto? Don't be crazy! Why would I hide something from you?" He replied, with a very nervous chuckle.

"I may not be all that smart sensei, but I'm not that stupid either. There is obviously something you aren't telling me, and I wanna know what it is. I am sick of always being left in the dark!"

Yamato didn't know what to do. On one hand Naruto wasn't supposed to know the true reason behind his presence on the island. Tsunade-sama had made it very clear that he was to believe he was there solely to record the animals of the region. But on the other hand, Naruto did have a point. He was almost never told anything if it concerned him. Hell, the poor kid hadn't even learned about the Kyuubi being inside of him until he was TWELVE YEARS OLD. And if it hadn't been for that traitor Mizuki who knows how much longer he could have gone on with no idea he housed the most powerful demon alive. And on a side note, if his hunch about what was going on was correct, he could definitely use Naruto's help.

"Sigh... Alright Naruto-kun… you have a ri" Yamato began, before being forced to stop when another huge tremor assaulted them. Quickly gaining his balance, Yamato took a look around, only to realize they had an unexpected guest.

"Kukuku… it appears I am a very lucky man. To think I would actually find you so quickly, Naruto-kun. And you even have Yamato with you. Hmm… he could actually be of great assistance with the Zetsus…" said a voice, although the last part was said just barely above a whisper. Naruto turned towards the new voice with a scowl. Upon seeing who it was, however, he took an unconscious step or two backwards while staring at the person with wide eyes.

It was Kabuto. Or at least was Kabuto at one point. Upon taking another look he noticed that the man before him had gone through many changes since the last time he had seen him. He seemed to have patches of scales covering his body, weird line like marks on his face, and a grotesque tail behind him that swayed back and forth. Overall, he looked much more like a snake (a freaky looking, mutated snake, but one none the less) then the last time Naruto had seem him.

"Kabuto..." he said, with a (mostly) even voice. "What do you think you are doing here? And what the hell happened to you?"

"Kukuku... unfortunately Kabuto-kun is no longer in charge of this body" hissed the man, not bothering to hide his obvious amusement. Hearing his voice, Naruto's eyes narrowed into a glower.

"Orochimaru..." he growled out. "What the hell are you doing here? I thought Sasuke-teme killed your creepy ass! And why are you in Kabuto's body?"

"Kukuku... is that really anyway to greet an old friend? And here I was looking forward to this little reunion of ours." replied the Snake Sennin.

"Answer the damn questions! How the hell are you still alive?" growled Naruto.

"Oh, I am sorry Naruto-kun, that was quite rude of me. It was simple really. When I failed to take control of Sasuke-kun's body Kabuto here took what was left of me into himself, in the hopes of gaining my power for himself. What he didn't take into account, however, was that I have always had a rather strong will to live. In the end it wasn't all that difficult to take control of his body as I would with any other." said Orochimaru with a smirk working its way across his face. Still staring at the blond Jinchuuriki he was sent to capture, he continued speaking just a moment later. "Now Naruto-kun, it is time for you to come with me. After all, the sooner we extract the Kyuubi from within you, the sooner we can end this war."

Growling at first, Naruto then blinked and adopted a look of confusion. "What war?" His question seemed to only amuse Orochimaru more.

Deciding to jump in before Orochimaru could answer, it was Yamato who recaptured Naruto's attention.

"Naruto, we have to go! The leader of Akatsuki has declared war on the Elemental Nations and only needs you and Killer Bee to complete his plan!" he yelled out to his charge.

"What do you mean he declared war? Why didn't anyone tell me about this?" Naruto questioned/yelled. He couldn't understand why everyone always kept important information from him! He had a right to know, damnit! In fact, he had more of a right to know than anyone else, seeing as they affected him personally.

"Because we knew you would want to charge in and be in the center of the fighting! We can't let that happen! You and Bee are too important to risk at this moment in time! Now come on, we have to regroup with the others and find a way to stop Orochimaru!" he explained to Naruto, hoping he blonde would listen if just this once. But before Naruto could reply, Orochimaru started to chuckle darkly.

"Kukuku… I think you friends are a little busy with some problems of their own at the moment; Especially the Hachibi. While I doubt he is weak by any means, I believe even he will have some difficulty dealing with the rest of the Akatsuki that I have revived. And besides, who said I would let you leave in the first place?" interrupted the Mad Scientist.

'Shit, this is bad! They came completely prepared for this, and we aren't prepared at all! While we thought the Akatsuki might make a move, we never expected anything to this extent!' thought the ANBU Captain. "Naruto! I am going to try and stall him while you make a run for it!"

"What? No way! I am not going to leave you behind when I can fight to!" said Naruto.

"Dammit Naruto! You are too important to let get caught! If they capture you they will extract the Kyuubi from inside of you, killing you in the process! And if they get Killer Bee and extract the Hachibi from him as well, the world as we know it will no longer exist! Madara is planning on re-merging the 9 bijuu into the Juubi, and then using the moon to control the minds of everyone in the entire Elemental Nations!" Yamato screamed. "Is that what you want all of your friends to be forced to experience?"

There was a silence between the three shinobi. Naruto was having trouble dealing with how little the always told him. Hell, they has even discovered the Akatsuki's plans, and still didn't tell him anything, even though it was an organization that was trying to KILL him! He continued to stare at Orochimaru while still process what he had just learned, Yamato was furiously trying the think up a plan to get out of the situation alive, and Orochimaru simply stood still with the smirk never leaving his face. Deciding that it was about time to finish his part of the mission, Orochimaru figured it would be amusing to play with Naruto's mind once more.

"So what will you do Naruto-kun? Are you going to fight me with your sensei and risk being the reason the Shinobi World comes under Madara's control? Or are you going to run off with your tail between your legs, leaving behind your sensei to certain death, simply so you can live on, if for only a while?" His smirk widen even more as he watched the emotions play across Naruto's face and saw Yamato start to panic. After a few minutes, though, Naruto gained a look of impassiveness. Curious as to what he would decide, Orochimaru decided to listen to what he had to say before taking them both back to Madara's secret base.

"Yamato-sensei..." he began, getting the attention of his teacher, "I am not going to run away. If I were to run, they would just hurt everyone who got in there way until they eventually found me. If I stay and help you beat him though, they will not only be down one member, but it would also give both of us a chance to escape… and maybe even help Killer Bee." Naruto reasoned.

"Naruto, I know you want to help, but what if they capture you? What will you do then?" asked the concerned man.

"Don't worry sensei, even if they can capture me, I won't let them take the Kyuubi from me." he assured. A grin then began to slowly spread across his face, before he screamed "BELIEVE IT!" and shot towards Orochimaru.

Most of the battle with Orochimaru was only a blur, but he did remember some of what had happened towards the end. The battle had quickly moved outside. He noticed that Killer Bee had in fact been beaten. He had, however, been able to defeat Hidan, Kakuza, Kisame, and Sasori. And while it was indeed impressive, it still left him and Yamato to deal with Orochimaru, Itachi, Konan, Nagato.

It had been an intense battle, and they were able to get rid of Itachi, Konan, and Nagato's bodies before Yamato was knocked out. Naruto had been using Sage Mode since about half-way through the battle but was beginning to worry that he might have to use his new control over the Kyuubi's chakra. The only reason he had not used it so far was that he wanted to have an ace in his sleeve if he ever needed it. However, having finally started to tire, he was unable to dodge some of Orochimaru's shuriken. Almost immediately he knew something was wrong. Every second it became increasingly more difficult to move.

"Kukuku… so how do you like the paralysis poison I created specifically for Jinchuuriki? It took quite a little bit of manipulating to get it to work effectively, but now that I have worked out all the kinks it has become very useful." Orochimaru said, his evil smirk still present on his face.

The blond tried to respond, but found he found no longer move any part of his body. He was surprised he could even breathe. As he starred up at the sky he saw what appeared to be a giant white bird fly over him. A few moments later he heard in touching down just behind his head.

"Nighty night little Jinchuuriki, yeah." he heard a voice come from behind him as well. The only thing he remembered was a quick pain on his neck before he passed out.

This brought him back to lying in a cave having the Kyuubi's chakra drawn from him. Remembering everything that happened, Naruto swore to himself that he would not allow Akatsuki to complete their plans for world domination. Looking around with his eyes, he then began trying to get back on his feet. He struggled for a few seconds without success before he heard a voice from somewhere nearby, though he couldn't say exactly where.

"It is no use. We have already begun the Genryuu Kyuu Fuujin (Complete Nine Mystical Dragon Seal). It is now impossible for you to escape, and in just a few days all of the Kyuubi's chakra will be drawn into Gedo Mazo. And once that is done, nothing will stand in my way." the voice said. Upon hearing what the voice said, it was rather easy for Naruto to deduce who it belonged to. And it filled him with pure hatred and rage.

"Madara!" he was able to growl out. Using his rage to fuel him on, Naruto slowly began to force himself into his knees.

"Kukuku… quite amazing Naruto-kun. Speaking alone during the process is an achievement on its own, but to be able to move as well! Truly astounding. It is such a shame that once the extraction is done you will die. You always were an interesting child." stated Orochimaru, who Naruto turned his head towards upon hearing him.

"That damn smirk is starting to piss me off…" he grumbled lowly. Looking around he realized that there was only 4 members in the large cave they were occupying; Deidara, Nagato, Orochimaru, and Madara. However, out of the four, it was Madara who grabbed his attention upon seeing him. "The Sharingan… and the Rinnegan…" he breathed out.

"Oh, do you approve of the new addition Naruto? I must say, I am rather fond of it myself." said Madara, easily hearing Naruto, as well as seeing where he was looking.

Seeing the eye however only increased Naruto's already high anger level. He knew that the only place he could have gotten that eye was from Nagato. And even though they had been enemies, in the end he had come to respect the man. "You bastard." was all he could think to say.

"Oh and why do you believe I am a bastard Naruto? All I am doing is bringing peace to the world. What is so wrong about that?"

"First, you get my parents killed… then you start manipulating, capturing, and killing innocent people… like Gaara… and Killer Bee… and all the other Jinchuuriki who never asked for the burdens they carries… and then you steal a man's eye from his grave… all for some demented vision of piece you have stuck in your head…" between each pause Naruto pushed himself up a little more, until he was finally standing on his feet. "You're despicable… you're horrible... and I... will... stop... you!" he yelled. As he did, he began to focus the Kyuubi's chakra inside of him. Luckily the statue had only been able to get a very small amount, due to the small number of members, the short amount of time, and the fact that the chakra was now just as much his as it was Kyuubi's.

"It seems Orochimaru-san's earlier statement about you was very true… you are a very interesting child. But there is still no way for you to escape the Genryuu Kyuu Fuujin. No matter how hard you try, you cannot stop me." stated Madara.

"Yes, truly interesting Naruto-kun." said Orochimaru.

"First time I have ever seen someone able to do anything at all while inside the Genryuu Kyuu Fuujin, yeah." mused Deidara.

All the while Nagato stayed silent. The only change was a slight narrowing of his eyes at everything he was hearing. He began to feel something deep inside him welling to the surface while he looked at Naruto. He had remembered his desire for Naruto to succeed, but he had been forced to follow Orochimaru's wishes. Up until now. He didn't know what it was, but something about Naruto's words and the look of determination on his face made it possible for him to fight off Orochimaru's will.

"Oh, really Madara? There is no way for me to escape?" here Naruto smirked, "We'll see about that..." With that said he released the chakra he had been channeling, causing a huge wave of power to flow out of him. As it exploded off of him it caused a tornado like vortex to form around him. All of the Akatsuki members could only watch in shock, awe, and (in Madara's case) anger as their cloaks flapped around in every direction. It dispersed and revealed the Genryuu Kyuu Fuujin to have been disrupted and allowed him to move normally again. Standing at his full height, and now looking like a being of flames with a large seal on his stomach, he turned and glared at Madara.

"Impossible! This can't be happening! How did you gain the power of the Rikudou Sennin?" he shouted out in rage. There was no mistaking the child's look, especially with the comma like marks around his neck.

Naruto just stood in amazement, however, as he sensed Nagato attack Deidara without the other two noticing, getting one enemy out of the way. He was even more shocked when Nagato appeared next to him (without even a drop of evil intent) and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"That is not all he has." said Nagato, before Naruto felt himself pulled into his mind scape.

Mind scape

Looking around Naruto noticed he was in the sewer that represented his mind, in front of the Kyuubi's cage to be precise. Standing next to him was Nagato.

"How the hell did you get into my mind? And better yet, why are you in my mind?" asked Naruto, being genuinely confused.

"How and why I am here is not important. What is important is that I want to help you unlock something within you. Something that will help you defeat Madara." stated Nagato.  
"And what exactly would that be?"

"The Rinnegan."

"WHAT? How the hell do you expect me to get the Rinnegan?" Naruto asked him, not understanding what the man said.

"Simple, you are an Uzumaki. The Rinnegan is the kekkei genkai of the Uzumaki clan. Because it is in their blood, every Uzumaki has the ability to gain the Rinnegan. However, unlike the other powerful doujutsus, it is much harder to obtain. Every member of the Hyuuga clan can use the Byakugan, with the use of hand signs if need be. A member of the Uchiha clan usually has to experience a life or death situation to unlock their eyes, but it can be done through intense training as well. But with the Rinnegan, the Uzumaki must have experienced a past that would crush almost anyone else. Now that I am inside your mind, I can tell that you would have eventually unlocked it on your own, most likely by the age of 18; its activation has most likely been delayed by the Kyuubi's presence inside of your body. Now that I am here, I will give it the little push it has needed." stated Nagato.

"Wait... so if the Rinnegan is the doujutsu of the Uzumaki clan... and you have the Rinnegan... does that mean we are family?" asked the blond.

"While I do not know the exact relation between us, yes we are. Now, no more questions. I want you to clear your mind while I transfer the knowledge of how to use the powers of the Rinnegan into your brain, and then I will awaken it for you." ordered Nagato. "Are you ready?"

Naruto took a moment to think, before replying. "Yes, I am ready. And Nagato… thank you." he said with a small smile.

Exit Mind scape

"Nagato, what are you doing! What have you done for him?" yelled Madara, while Orochimaru just looked intrigued that Nagato had been able to break the seal that placed him under his control.

"I have simply helped him activate what was rightfully his as an Uzumaki." stated Nagato. Madara's eyes went wide upon hearing this.

"You can't mean…" he started.

"Yes. I now have the Rinnegan." Naruto stated while opening his eyes, reveling them to have become entirely blue with a ripple effect. Giving a slight smirk, he decided to rub it in. "Do you approve Madara-teme?"

"What a most interesting change of plans, kukuku. This should prove to be entertaining, don't you think Madara-san?" asked the Snake.  
Madara simply glared at the blond through the eye holes in his mask. He took a deep breath, completely ignoring Orochimaru's comment, and calmed himself.

"So be it. I will incapacitate you to the point that you will not be able to move ever again. I will keep you alive, however, so that the Juubi can still be restored." Naruto just stared at him, before his smirk widened.

"Let's go wild!"

End of Flashback

"I still can't believe I had to pull him to me with a Bensho Tenin and then hit him point blank with a Fuuton: Rasenshuriken to finally take him down. That hurt like... like… dammit, I can't even think of anything to compare it to." Naruto sighed. "I still wish I could have thanked Nagato again, but as soon as he killed Orochimaru, Madara hit him with Amaterasu."

"**Oh well. You already thanked him, stop complaining**." came the Kyuubi's booming demonic voice.

"Ya ya. So how long do I have to sit in here before I actually die?" asked Naruto, as he was beginning to get annoyed with just sitting in his mind. He still didn't know why his mind had to be a sewer of all things, but that just helped increase how annoyed he was with the whole situation.

"_**Oh, and who said you are going to be dying today Naruto-kun**_?" asked a new voice, one he had never heard before. Just from the sound of it, however, Naruto was able to tell it was someone powerful.

"Who is there?" he asked while looking around. Finally he spotted the man. The power rolling off of him was amazing, but at the same time brought a sense of calmness and amazement to him. He was in a white suit with dress shoes. He also had a darker tone of skin, one he had only seen in people from Kumo. And he had gray and white hair with a trimmed beard and mustache. The man chuckled at the question while walking forward.

"_**I… go by many names. I am the alpha and the omega. The holy one. The creator of all things**_." The man smiled and held his arms out to his sides. "_**Naruto, I am Kami**_."

Naruto blinked a few times while staring at the man, no, the being before him. He then quirked an eyebrow.

"Ok. So what do you hell do you want?" he questioned, "If you didn't notice, I am kind of busy sitting in my mind doing nothing. You know, due to dying because of the crappy life you gave me." Kyuubi just groaned in the background, something that sounded strangely like "idiot", but he would worry about that later. Kami, however, gave him a sad smile.

"_**I am here because I believe that you would be of great assistance somewhere else in the near future. And because, Naruto-kun, I feel you deserve a second chance at life**_" answered the God.  
"And what exactly are you wanting me to help with, and where at? Plus, why do you believe I deserve another chance at life, now of all times?"

"_**I will not tell you what, but it will be on another world, one called Middle Earth**_." he said. "_**A world that might fall into an age of darkness much like yours was at risk of doing. And it is because of your determination and your pureness, that I believe you deserve another chance. Even when you were pushed back, ignored, and beaten by the world, you kept pushing through. And in the end, you are still more pure then almost everyone else in this world**_."

"Okay… and why won't you tell me what I would be helping with?" wondered the blond demon vessel

"_**Because that would ruin the surprise, as well as get rid of some of the adventure**_." he smiled with a twinkle in his eyes. "_**So what do you say, Naruto-kun, up for a whole new adventure in a whole new world**_?"

Naruto thought for a moment before looking back to the Kami that was visiting his humble mind scape. "I just want to know two things… if I help with this, can I return home when it is over? And just to make sure you are who you say you are, what is the best food ever created?"

"_**Hmm… we shall see… but I don't see why not**_." he answered with a smile, before chuckling. "_**And my personal favorite food, Naruto-kun, would have to be… miso ramen.**_"

Hearing the man's wise choice, Naruto only nodded his head. It was obviously Kami, seeing as ramen was the food of the gods.

"Alright then, not like I have nothing better to do. You got yourself a man mister Alpha and Omega." he said with his own twinkling eyes.

"_**Hahahaha! Good, Naruto-kun, I am glad to hear it. When you wake up, you will be in the new world. I think I will let you figure it out on your own from there**_." he informed the young man. "_**Oh, and just so you know… in this world I may be known as Kami… but in this new world… I am known as… Iluvatar**_."

"Alright, I will go fix this crap for you. Oh, I just hope I can find a good ramen stand somewhere." Naruto said; the last part more to himself. Kami could only sweat drop while Kyuubi let out an exasperated sigh. Hearing this Kami began to leave Naruto behind, but he decided to inform the child of one other thing.

"_**Oh, and Naruto-kun, there is no ramen in Middle Earth**_." and with that the god disappeared, leaving a silent boy behind. A few seconds later his comment was finally processed by the young man.

In Hell:

"NNOOO!" came a scream that seemed to echo throughout the entirety of hell. Some of the demons began to look around, a few of them shivering. One of the larger ones turned back to his friend.

"**Poor bastard, sounds like someone just told him he'd never be able to have ramen again**." he stated, causing his friend to shiver as well.

"**Dude, don't say something like that! That is just wrong! Who would ever do something that horrible to anybody**?" was his friends reply.

In Heaven:

"NNOOO!" echoed the same voice throughout heaven. Kami, hearing this, looked around and then felt a shiver run down his spine

"_**Why do I feel as though Naruto-kun is going to kill me**_?" he asked himself. "_**Maybe it is the fact that there isn't ramen in Middle Earth…**_" what sounded remarkably like a 'yes' echoed throughout heaven. "_**Nah, can't be. I am sure I am just over reacting**_."

Back in Mind scape:

"I am going to kill him the next time I see him." growled out the blond. "Tricking me into going somewhere without ramen…" The Kyuubi just sighed, again, and turned his huge head towards his jailor.

"**Why don't you just wake up now? There is nothing that is still holding you in here. Go out there and try and figure out what the hell is going on." he **said, finally having enough and wanting to rest.

"Fine fine… damn demonic kitsunes and evil Kamis…" he mumbled under his breath as he rejoined the realm of the conscious.


	2. Chapter 1

Nope, still don't own any of it. Do we really have to do this?

**Story Stats:**

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Words in this Chapter: 4,367

Date Uploaded (orginal): January 3, 2011

Updated Version Upload: July 7, 2013

"**Kyuubi Speaking"**

"Normal Speaking"

'Normal Thinking'

"Ugh…" Naruto groaned as he slowly sat up. He opened his eyes, but only saw colors swirling around in front of him. He quickly snapped them shut again, and proceeded to shake his head in an attempt to rid  
himself of his dizziness. Opening his eyes again (at a slightly slower pace this time around), he was able to make out his surroundings. He seemed to be sitting on the side of a hill, with not much in his  
immediate vicinity other than more hills. Naruto, after sitting in the grass for a few more moments, stood up and scratched the back of his head.

"Well..." Naruto began, while taking the time to examine himself. "Looks like I am going to need to buy some new clothes..." He was still wearing his orange atrocity, but it was torn to shreds, with  
half of the jacket being completely gone. Out of all his clothes, the only thing that was undamaged (as far as he could tell) was the pair of boxers he had on. Luckily he still had his kunai case and shuriken  
pouch, although his stocks were also somewhat low at the moment. After the realization that he needed new clothing had passed, he took another quick glance at the hills surrounding him. "So what the hell  
do I do now?" Seeing as he had been speaking to himself, and no one was around, he had not been expecting a response. Especially from the demonic fur ball sealed inside of his gut.

"**You should probably head to the top of this hill and try to get a grasp of your surroundings**" said the aforementioned fur ball, answering the blonde's rhetorical question.

'Kyuubi?' thought Naruto, becoming confused. 'Is that you?'

"**No, this is one of the other countless voices that are roaming around your pathetic excuse for a brain unchecked**" came the sarcastic reply. This left the ninja silent for a second, before...

'Ok, just wanted to make sure other crazy voice.'

"**YOU BAKA! OF COURSE IT IS ME! Why the hell are you asking such a stupid question**?" roared the Kyuubi.

This made the boy snicker a little, before he finally decided to answer his 'guest'. 'Because, you actually offered me advice that didn't have anything to do with releasing you from the seal, or turning into some berserk killing machine by using your powers. If I didn't know any better, I would think you were starting to care about me.''

"**WH...WHAT? NEVER! I just... uh... thought that I should tell you what to do, that way we could start this stupid mission of yours. Ya, that's it! I knew if I didn't say anything, you would stay here for an hour or something, before finally deciding to do something stupid**!"

'Uh-huh... suuuure... that's why you did it.' replied the still chuckling Naruto. 'It's ok fella, now that I know it wasn't completely your fault for what happened, and now that I have control over your chakra, I might be able to forgive you a little bit.'

"**Grr... whatever... just get to the top of the damn hill already**." growled the now aggravated demon lord.

Deciding it probably wouldn't be wise to continue teasing the kitsune, he decided to follow its advice. It only took him a few minutes to walk to the top of the hill. Looking around once again, he was easily  
able to make out woodland off in one direction, while also noticing a mountain range in another. He also was able to see three people on the top of another hill a small distance away. Behind them he was able to make out parts of what appeared to be a road. They were inside a circle of stones, and appeared to be looking for something. From the looks of it there was one adult and two children. They all seemed to  
be wearing somewhat dull colors, as well as traveling cloaks. He was momentarily caught off guard by how well he could see them, even at the distance.

"Wow! I guess that small boost to my senses I got from gaining control over Kyuubi's chakra really is useful!" he exclaimed.

"**Well no duh, Baka. What the hell did you think? That being able to see farther and clearer, as well as hear better, would be a disadvantage? Of course it would be useful! You should just be grateful MY powers allowed you the upgrade**." ranted Kyuubi. Naruto's reaction was to simply give a mental snort.

'Ya ya, whatever. Not like you really helped me gain them anyway, Mr. "I WILL DESTORY YOU".'

"**Shut up! You try my patience, you worthless ningen! Leave now! Why don't you go over to those people and see if you can actually find out what you're supposed to be doing in this Kami damned world**." ordered the now very angry demon, causing Naruto to raise his brow.

'Did you really just try and tell me to leave... When you are the one in MY head?' asked the blond shinobi.

"**I SAID SHUT UP**!"

Finally being brought to full on laughter, Naruto wiped an imaginary tear from his eye before heading in the direction of the group he could see on the other hill. After a few steps, however, he noticed that the adult had grabbed one of the kids, before throwing himself and the child to the ground. The other kid followed after a split second. He noticed that they were looking around the side of a rock. Looking in the same direction as well, he saw black specks moving on the road. In the dimming light, it was becoming difficult to distinguish anything about them. But Naruto did know one thing as he watches the people leave the circle and run down into what appeared to be a hollow, and he began to sprint towards them...

He had a bad feeling about those black specks.

As he ran, he kept his eyes on the hollow that the people had run into. After a few minutes he saw a fire spring to life inside of it, making it possible to make out the outlines of the group, which seemed to consist of five people. He was also able to make out the shadows of five of the... things… that were giving him a bad vibe. The sun had completely set by now, and the moon could easily be seen floating in  
the sky.

After another minute he heard someone yell out. He could finally make out more of the black specks from before. They seemed to be completely covered by black cloaks that were heavily tattered. As he finally got a within a few feet of the hollow, a couple things caught his attention. One was that the adult he had seen before had grabbed a stick that had been partway in the fire, brandishing it as he would the sword at his side. As he did this, two of the four children threw themselves to the ground. Another was that one of the children had seemed to simply vanish into thin air, but noticed he could still somehow see where he was. And the last thing he noticed, before he entered the fray, was that as soon as the child vanished, three of the cloaked creatures (two had stayed at the entrance to the hollow) had stepped forward, before the one in the middle drew a sword and a dagger.

Naruto finally reached the entrance, having still remained unnoticed. He quickly summoned two clones as he approached the creatures guarding the entrance, placing the on both sides of them. The clones quickly grabbed the creatures before spinning around and throwing them away from the action. Naruto and the clones them proceeded to enter the hollow. As he watched, the figure with the sword and dagger seemed to be in the process of drawing back his dagger to strike the invisible(ish) child. Putting on a burst of speed, he bypassed the other two creatures, leaving them for the clones. He pulled out a kunai and switched it to his left hand, holding it in a reverse grip. Then, just as the creature was trying to strike, Naruto jumped in between him and his target, while blocking the dagger with his knife. Looking up, saw the rotting face of a man with a crown, who somehow had a look of surprise on his undead face.

"You know," he began. "That isn't a very nice thing to do. How about you pick on someone your own size." as he said this he put his right hand behind him, before he began to form a swirling mass of energy in the palm of his hand.

The invisible person had closed his eyes as he also threw himself to the ground. He grabbed the ring on his finger, but didn't pull it off. He layer there for a few moments, expecting to feel the pain of being  
stabbed. However, instead he heard the sound of metal hitting metal. As he opened his eyes, he saw a man he had never met (or seen) before. He was wearing clothes that were much more colorful then he had ever seen before. He didn't make out what the figure was saying, but he did notice the ball that was forming in the palm of his right hand. As he watched, the energy began to spin very rapidly and every direction, while causing the wind around it to pick up. It also began to give off a low whining sound before is finally stopped growing.

The man who was brandishing the flaming stick took a few steps to try and intercept the cloaked figure, but watched as someone seemed to appear out of nowhere and block the descending dagger. He only saw (out of the corner of his eye) that two more people, dressed exactly as the first, punch the other two wraiths in their faces with enough force to send them flying backwards. Back to the one who had saved his companion, he also watched as the man began to form a mass of spinning energy in his right hand. He continued to watch on, amazed, as the figure began to speak again.

"You know what?" asked the blond. "You are REALLY ugly! Let me help you fix that." He pulled his arm back a little more, before launching the orb into the figure's face. "RASENGAN!"

As the attack hit, everyone (the two who had hit the floor were now looking up as well) watched as there was an explosion that sent the creature flying backward. They heard it screeching in pain as it spun through the air, before it too joined its companions outside the hollow.

"And don't let me see your ugly mug again!" Naruto yelled after it. He watched as his companions help to pick him up, before they begin to glide away. Watching them finally get back to the road, he finally  
turned around to speak to the people he had just saved. "Hey! Nice to meet you guys! So can you tell me who or what the hell those things were?" He said, closing his eyes as he smiled at the assembled group.

After a few moments of silence, he opened his eyes and looked around in confusion. Everyone was looking at him in awe, their mouths open as they simply stared at him. He chuckled nervously, before looking down at the person he had just saved from being stabbed.

"Would you like some help up?" he asked, while holding out his hand. The kid looked at it for a moment, before taking hold of it and shakily getting to his feet. When he finally was on his feet everyone seemed to realize who he was speaking to. The man he had noticed before dropped his stick, before moving forward a few steps.

"Frodo! Take off the ring, quickly! The longer you leave it on, the greater the chance he will discover were we are!" he yelled. Naruto could easily see that he was becoming worried.

Said shinobi then looked back down the person he helped up, and watched as he jumped before removing a ring from his hand in a hurry. As soon as he did, the child once again became visible to everybody.

"Well... that is rather interesting..." stated Naruto.

"Thank you for saving us, sir. I would probably be dead right now if it wasn't for you arriving when you did." said the now named Frodo.

"No problem kid, it's what I do. So you wanna tell me why they were after you?"

The man stepped forward at this. "I can answer that for you" he said. But before he could continue, one of the other children stepped forward. He was slightly rounder then the others. He stepped up towards Frodo, and then placed his hand on Frodo's shoulder.

"Now look here Mr. Frodo. He saved us with his timely entrance, and that's all nice and good, but I don't think we should be telling him about all this. What would Master Gandalf think?" he asked. Naruto  
scratched the back of his head, becoming more confused than before.

"While you would normally be right Sam, I believe this young man to be a trust worthy one. But you are right, it is up to you Frodo, as this concerns you the most." said the man.

Naruto decided to simply wait for them to decide, and began to look at all of them. He first looked at the man who has just spoken. He was a rather tall man, with dark wavy hair and a beard that looked as though it had not been shaved in about a week. He was wearing dark traveling clothes that seemed to be made of simple wool. On his feet was a pair of worn boots, caked with mud. There was a sword at his side, but it was not like any he had seen before, but seeing as he had seen much weirder before, he didn't think much of it. Overall he seemed to have a rugged look to him, but something about his eyes told Naruto that he was a good person and leader.

Turning, he then looked at the kids around him. He watched the two who threw themselves down stand back up. They were of small stature, but looked rather similar to him. They wore traveling clothes as well, but they were of a lighter color then the man's. Both had light curly hair and eyes that sparkled with a love for mischief, although they were somewhat dimmed from the scare they had gone through. The last thing he noticed was they had rather large and feet, and neither was wearing shoes of any sort. Sam, the somewhat fatter kid, was mostly the same as them; the only real difference being his eyes held seriousness to them, with none of the playfulness the other two had.

And finally he looked at Frodo, who he realized had been looking at him the entire time. While his hair was curly like the others, it was also a darker color then theirs. Height wise, he appeared to be the tallest of the children. His face also seemed to be a little more angular then the others. They then met each other's eyes and stared at each other for a while. After a few moments, during which the other kids began to feel nervous, Frodo gained a small smile. He turned towards the man.

"I trust him, Strider. And as Sam has said, he saved my life. He deserved to know what he has saved us all from."

Strider also began smiling, with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Wait," Naruto ordered. "Are you trying to tell me... That your name... Is Strider?" he asked, with his finger pointed at the man.

This caused the man and the kids (minus Sam) to burst into laughter. Eventually Strider gained control of himself, before finally speaking again.

"Yes and no. Strider is one of my many names, used mostly by those who live in Bree. Truthfully, however, I am Aragorn son of Arathorn." He replied. "And as for those things you helped us with, they are known as the Nazgul, or the Ringwraiths. They were once mighty men, but they became consumed by greed and power. Know they do whatever their master bids them, and they are currently after the ring that Frodo has in his possession. And now, before we continue on this depressing subject, I  
believe we should all introduce ourselves properly." At this he looked at all the four kids.

One of the playful ones stepped forward. "I am Peregrin Took, or Pippin for short, at your service."

The one next to him stepped forward next. "Meriadoc Brandybuck, or Merry, likewise at your service."

Next was Sam, who stayed where he was. "Samwise Gamgee."

After a few seconds, Frodo realized that Sam was done with his introduction. Giving a slight chuckle, he held out his hand to his savior. "I am Frodo Baggins, and I am in your debt."

Looking at him, Naruto then smiled and shook it. "Like I said, don't worry about it. I gotta say though, you guys sure do have funny names, especially you kids."

Three of the 'kids' seemed to take offense to this, while Frodo and Aragorn simply laughed. Pippin then walked up to him and poked him in the stomach.

"Who do you think you are calling a child? I will have you know that I am at least twice your age!" This caused Naruto to raise a brow.

"Sorry, but I am 17, and you don't exactly look like your all that old."

"I will have you know," started Pippin. "That we are all (approximately) 50 years old. So who is the child now?" he taunted, now feeling rather smug.

"WHAT? REALLY?"

Still laughing, Aragorn answered him. "Indeed they are young man. The reason they look so young is that they are Hobbits."

'What the hell is a Hobbit?' he wondered. "Umm... Okay... guess you're not kids after all... but your names still sound weird!" At which point he stuck out his tongue.

"Oh really? And what exactly is your name then?" This time it was Merry who asked the question.

"I am Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto! And I am going to be the greatest Hokage Konoha has ever seen!" he exclaimed, causing another awkward silence.

"And you think our names are weird?" asked Pippin and Merry.

"What the hell is a Hokage?" was Sam's response.

"Where is Konoha?" wondered Frodo, having never heard of it before.

Aragorn, however, simply let them finish their questions. He had never heard of such a name or a Hokage before, and had never been to any place called Konoha. And seeing as he had traveled just about everywhere (and seeing as the boy had never heard of Hobbits), that only left one explanation in his mind. He wasn't from Middle Earth. After they were finished, he looked the boy in the eyes and asked his own.

"How exactly did you get here?" And then, after noticing something odd, he also asked, "And what happened to your companions?"

"Huh? What companions?" was Naruto's intelligent answer.

"The two men who were with you. They wore the same style of clothing as you, and they were taking care of the other wraiths while you took on the one after Frodo." Naruto continued to look confused, before snapping his fingers when he realized what he was talking about.

"Oh, them. They weren't my companions, they were my clones." He answered matter-of-factly.

"Clones?" this time everybody asked the same question.

"Here, I'll show you!" With that he made a cross with the pointer and middle fingers of both hands. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he exclaimed. Everyone was shocked as a puff of smoke appeared on both sides of the blond, before clearing to show two more Naruto's.

"Yo." said the one of the left.

"What's up?" was the right.

"See! Clones! Pretty cool, huh?" asked the one in the middle.

All they could do was nod their heads slowly with wide eyes. Even in all his years in the wild, Aragorn had never seen anything like this, so what chance did the group of Hobbits have?

"And how exactly did you get here?" Aragorn asked again.

"Oh, that's easy, Kami sent me."

"Kami?"

"Oh yeah, he said he did go by something different here... But what was it?" He turned to the clone on the left, who shook his head no. "How about you?" he asked the one on the right.

"If I am you... and you don't know… how the hell so you expect me to know?" it asked in an exasperated tone.

"Hey! Don't use that tone with me!"

"Come ok guys, don't argue!" pleaded the one on the left.

"SHUT UP!" the two yelled in synch, before glaring at each other.

Off on the side, the group if five watched on in amazement. Slowly Sam turned towards Frodo.

"Mr. Frodo?" he asked. "Is it just me, or is he getting in and argument... with himself?" Frodo could only nod his head.

"Yes Sam, I believe he is."

Then, suddenly, the three look-a-likes snapped their fingers, looks of realization stamped across their faces.

"Oh ya!" yelled the Naruto on the left

"He said..." continued the original.

"His name was..." said the right.

"ILUVATAR!" they exclaimed together.

Three of the hobbits (Merry, Pippin, and Sam) were slowly edging away from him, eyes wide as they stared at the insane person before them. Frodo, seeing his friends' faces, couldn't help but laugh at them, even though he was rather surprised by Naruto's claim. Aragorn, on the other hand, didn't seem very surprised at all.

This changed after a few moments of thinking. Aragorn's face them contorted into a look of worry.

"This does not bode well for Middle Earth." he stated, earning a confused look from all of the hobbits.

"And why would you say something like that?" asked Pippin.

"If Iluvatar is sending us someone from a different world, it must mean that something is going to happen and that we might not be prepared for it."

"Hmm... your probably right." said Naruto, turning much more serious than those around him would have thought possible. "Just before he sent me here, he told me he was sending me to 'A world that might fall into an age of darkness much like yours was at risk of doing'."

Catching the part about Naruto's own world, Aragorn filed the information away to question him about later.

"It is as I feared. We shall rest for the night, and then in the morning we shall continue on our way to Rivendell." Then, turning towards Naruto, he asked, "Will you be joining us Naruto? We could use someone of your skills."

"Ya, as far as I can tell, you guys are probably tied into whatever I am supposed to be helping with." he replied.

"Good. For now, we shall rest."

"Alright, I'll take watch then, since I'm not really tired."

Hearing this, Sam was about to say something, but was stopped by a hand over his mouth. When he turned his head, he saw that it belonged to Frodo. Seeing his reaction caused Naruto to start laughing.

"Don't worry Sam." he started, gaining a mischievous look. He quietly created a shadow clone right behind Sam, which quickly pulled out a kunai and pressed it to Sam's neck. "If I wanted to kill you, I could have done it a long time ago."

Nodding, very carefully and nervously mind you, Sam apparently forgot about his reluctance. Aragorn decided to jump in before anything else happened.

"Thank you Naruto. That would be very much appreciated."

"No problem, just make sure you guys are ready in the morning."

Nodding, everyone began getting setting up their 'beds'. This basically consisted of using their back packs as a pillow, and then covering up with a blanket. As they were making themselves comfortable, the two Naruto clones nodded to the original, before running off into the darkness.

As Naruto sat there, he watched as they fell asleep. Pippin and Merry were the first to go, having been worn out by a long day of walking and the night's excitement. Frodo soon followed them. Sam had attempted to stay awake, obviously still a little wary of him. He fell asleep after half an hour. The only one who didn't seem to sleep was Aragorn.

Naruto continued to watch the camp for a few hours. During that time his two clones had dispelled themselves, informing him that the black cloaked creatures had indeed left the immediate vaccinate. Eventually Aragorn awoke, telling Naruto to get some rest while he had the chance. Nodding, Naruto got up, popped his back, and walked off to the side. He then removed the remains of his jacket, leaving him with his tattered black shirt to cover his chest. He rolled the jacket up and set it under his head as he lay down.

"Well..." he thought, just as he was about to fall asleep. "That was a rather interesting first day in a new world."

That night Naruto had a weird dream. There was an old man who reminded him of the Sandaime, having an almost aura of wisdom about him. He had long gray hair, as well as a matching beard. Held in between his two hands was what appeared to be a staff made from a long tree branch, and at his side was a sword similar to Aragorn's. In the dream, the old man was reciting something Naruto had never heard before.

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,  
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,  
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,  
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne  
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.  
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,  
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them  
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

Chapter End

Omake:

Naruto continued to watch the camp for a few hours. During that time his two clones had dispelled themselves, informing him that the black cloaked creatures had indeed left the immediate vaccinate. Eventually Aragorn awoke, telling Naruto to get some rest while he had the chance. Nodding, Naruto got up, popped his back, and walked off to the side. He then removed the remains of his jacket, leaving him with his tattered black shirt to cover his chest. He rolled the jacket up and set it under his head as he laid down. It only took him a few minutes to fall asleep.

Aragorn spent his time on watch contemplating the mysterious boy who had saved them. Turning, he stared at his prone form, looking as if he thought it would help unravel the mystery surrounding him. As he watched, said boy began to toss in his sleep, as well as gain a somewhat pained look across his face.

"Naruto? Are you alright?" he asked in a whisper.

The boy continued to toss and turn in his sleep, apparently not hearing Aragorn. After a few moments, however he began to speak.

"Why did he take our ramen?" he asked in a quiet voice. "why did he take it from us?"

"Ramen? What are you..." he started, before the boy began speaking again. This time in a differed tone of voice.

"Because he is an evil and cruel Kami, young one. He tooked our precious to watch us suffer." By now Aragorn was becoming confused.

"Naruto?" he asked again.

"No! Kami wouldn't do that to us! He wouldn't take our precious for fun!" he spoke again, switching back to the quiet voice.

"Yes, he would. He enjoys seeing us in pain. But that is ok. We will defeat him soon enough, and then we will have our precious back."

"But how? How will we defeat Kami?"

"Yes... it will be difficult. He is a tricksy Kami. But nothing will stop us. We will defeat him, and then no one shall ever take our precious again!" The two voices seemed to merge back together as he began to laugh, rather evilly at that.

"Ramen! Ramen!" he said, with a very wheezy voice (imagine when Sméagol says "Gollum" and that is oh he says it).

The boy the settled down, going back to laying still. Aragorn stared at him with wide eyes, obviously frightened very much by what he had just seen. He slowly backed away until he was at a, what he deemed, safe distance. He then curled up on the ground in the fetal position, and began to rock back and forth.

A small ways away, the two clones that had previously run off watched the scene unfold before them. When they saw Aragorn's reaction, they burst out in laughter.

"Did you see the look on his face?" said the one on the left.

"Ya! It was priceless! Man does boss know how to prank someone!" replied his double.

"Ya, I know what you mean. So do you think Aragorn will realize that it was just a joke?" asked the first.

"I don't know man, that was pretty convincing. Even if he does he will probably be having nightmares for quite some time."

"Probably."

The clones fell into silence. After a few minutes, the one on the left turned towards his companion.

"Hey, boss was awake when he was doing that, right?" The other clone slowly turned towards him.

"Well… I think he was…" he answered.

Both clones stared at each other, slowly gaining looks of anxiety. They then began to slowly turn their heads back towards the original Naruto, just as he began to laugh evilly once again, causing Aragorn to rock even faster.

Omake End!


	3. Chapter 2

No. Don't even ask, ya jack wagon.

Well guys, it has been a while, hasn't it? 2.5 years… Alright, I am not going to beat around the bush or anything, life happens and I had lost interest for quite a while. Trying it out again now. Don't expect a bunch of updates or anything all of a sudden though. I still have a life and a job, too. However, to try to make up for not giving you anything for so long, I pulled an all nighter to type this up. Hopefully you guys like it. This chapter is mostly about trying to get used to my own writing style (give me your honest opinions on it, btw. Want to know what others think of how this is written.) and advance the story a bit to where I can actually start making bigger changes. If you actually read the books, you will notice this chapter is not a whole lot different. Not a lot actually happens, which I apologize for, but I couldn't really think of anything big to make happen on the way to Elrond.

Anyway, hopefully you guys enjoy it. I appreciate all the stuff I have gotten from you so far. I haven't updated in forever, and I still get you guys favoriting or following randomly. Now, to actually start it.

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"**Kyuubi Speaking"**

"Normal Speaking"

'Normal Thinking'

As the sun peaked over the horizon, the gang of humans and hobbits found themselves up and preparing for the day of travel ahead of them. Sam was preparing a simple and quick breakfast to help them through the morning. As the others were preparing their packs, Naruto again found himself checking his equipment. While he did not use any of them during the small fight the night before, he would still need to find a way to restock his kunai and shuriken sometime soon. He was also still in dire need of some new clothing. Luckily for him, it seemed that Aragorn had realized the same thing.

"Here, friend. Take these until we reach Rivendell. There you shall be able to receive your own clothing which should fit a little better." He said, as he walked over to Naruto. He handed him some extra clothing that he was lucky to have on his person. They were rather plain, and a little on the large side, seeing as Aragorn was a rather tall fellow. But they would have to work for the time being, and would at least keep him better covered from the elements.

"Thanks." Replied Naruto, although he was sulking a bit in his head. 'Ah man… Not a single bit of orange…'

After changing, he joined the others in their quick meal. They finished their preparations, placing a fair amount of the food and such in the bags to be carried by the pony that apparently belonged to Sam. It looked as if it had seen better days, but also that it was on the way to becoming the healthy creature it should be. Afterwards everyone was ready to get back on the path to Rivendell. Before they set off, however, Aragorn gathered them around in order to go over the matter of the Ringwraiths.

"I fear they have not fled far, or for long for that matter. There were only 5 that came last night, and while I know not why only they came, it seems as if they were not expecting any resistance. Thanks to our new friend here, we were able to get away without injury. But with his arrival, I do not know what the Wraiths shall do next. If we do not make haste on our path, they will likely try to attack us again in the dead of night. Now they shall be weary, but also more driven to capture the ring, seeing as they have already failed once. Because of this, I have decided to change the path which we shall take. Originally I planned us to simply follow the road. Now we shall be cutting through the wild at the point where the path shall loop toward the north for a while."

Nobody seemed to disagree to this plan, although Naruto didn't really see how he could. He still did not know the lay of the land, where exactly there were going, and many other specifics that would have allowed him to try and think of a plan to arrive at their destination. So he simply nodded and observed. The others seemed to agree with Aragorn. Although he noticed that Sam was still giving him the occasion look of distrust. This of course only caused him to snort in amusement, which the hobbit did not seem to appreciate.

After the plan had been agreed upon, they set off on foot. It was slow work, considering the speeds Naruto was used to travel at back in the Elemental Nations. But it seemed that here the people were unable to travel as quickly as shinobi. This didn't really surprise him though, once he imagined the hobbits trying to run along the tree tops.

In order to keep himself occupied, Naruto began to ask about the basics of things in Middle Earth. He had a hard time wrapping his mind around the thought of there being so many different types of beings. Elves, Humans, Dwarves, Hobbits, Wizards… He also found it interesting how apart from the humans, who seemed to have a life-span similar to that of an average civilian, the other races seemed to be very long living; especially the elves. But he did find it funny to think of tiny, stocky men with long beards carrying battleaxes. Then of course, they explained about other sentient creatures, such as the orcs, goblins, and trolls. It was quite a lot to take in, considering he was used to only having one type of humanoid creature around. Sure they had giant creatures that they could summon which were also sentient, as well as the Bijuu, but that was quite a bit different than multiple type of humanoids running around.

Once they had given him a quick overview of some of the things to expect in Middle Earth, Naruto began to tell them a bit about his adventures in the Elemental Nations. The three of the hobbits, Frodo especially, seemed to find his stories to be great fun; but as expected Sam didn't seem to believe a word he said. Aragorn listened intently to his stories, and while he found quite a few of the situations to be very humorous, he was startled by some of the powers the young man claimed that not only he, but others from his home land, were able to use.

After the first day however, Naruto began to become bored with the monotony of simply walking. At first he took to menial things to try and keep himself occupied, such as casually playing with a kunai. While Frodo and Aragorn did not seem disturbed, the same could not be said about the rest of the party. Even Sam's little pony had taken to shying away from the young man when he pulled out his knife. This distraction also only lasted a day before it too become too boring to continue. This led to him practicing with the Rasengan. After all, it still wasn't perfect. He still needed a clone to make the technique usable in battle. So he took to practicing it with only one hand. It was slow going, but it kept him occupied, and he was also noticing his improvement each and every time he used it.

When he had first decided to start his light training, he had not informed the others, so they had been rather startled when he suddenly had some form of energy begin to swirl around his palm, eventually forming into a dense spinning ball. Aragorn quickly noted that it was the same attack that Naruto had used on the Ringwraith on the night they met.

"Naruto, what exactly is it that you are doing?" he decided to ask.

"Hm? Oh, this? It is the Rasengan. Pretty cool, huh?" Naruto answered, grinning in a manner that reminded the man of a fox.

"Indeed it is. But what exactly does it do? And how are you doing it as well?" he pressed, curious how the young man seemed able to use such a strange technique."

"What does it do? Well, it just kind of grinds against whatever I hit with it, I guess. Here, watch." With that, Naruto ran up to a rather large rock that had been unfortunate enough to have been in the vicinity at the time. He smashed the orb into the rock, letting it grind into the tough material. After a second of holding it there, he let it dissipate; leaving behind a spherical shape the exact size of the orb he had held a moment before. The others looked on in slight shock, amazed that the orb could do so much damage to something as sturdy and solid as the large rock.

"See, pretty sweet, huh?" he asked, rubbing his nose with a closed eye smile. "And that is the powered down version! This is what happens if I put some more power into it!"

He jumped back from the rock and began to power up another Rasengan, only this time he let it gain more speed and filled it with more chakra than he had before. The others noticed the change in the noise level. Before there had been what seemed to be a low whine in the air, but now it was much more pronounced, and more of a ringing noise than a whine. Again, Naruto jumped towards the rock and plunged the glowing energy ball into the unfortunate boulder. The others had expected a bit more damage, but most definitely not what followed. It seemed that as soon as the sphere collided with the boulder, a miniature explosion occurred. The others quickly covered their faces to block the debris, and once the smoke cleared the slight shock escalated to much higher levels. Where there had once been a large boulder, easily larger than any of the hobbits, there was now nothing but a few stone shards and an indent in the ground.

They looked back at the blonde, who was standing by the ruins of the now murdered boulder and had his hands clasped behind his head with a wide grin on his face.

"What… what was that?" stuttered out Sam, giving Naruto a look similar to the once he had given when the clone had held a knife to his throat two nights before. Naruto tilted his head in confusion, and dropped his hands from behind his head.

"What do you mean? I already told you that it is called the Rasengan. It was a move my dad created before he became Hokage."

Frodo decided to speak up this time, still staring in shock and amazement.

"We understand that it is called the Rasengan, Naruto. But how did you do it? I have never seen anything like that before you showed up."

"Nor I, and I have walked the lands of Middle Earth far and wide, for many a year. But nothing I have ever seen compares to the damage you were able to cause with that small attack." Added Aragorn, truly confused by how the blonde was capable of doing such a feat.

"Oh, that is easily." replied Naruto. "It is just chakra. It is how shinobi do most of their techniques."

"What exactly is this chakra, Naruto? I have never heard of it in all of my years." Said Aragorn.

"Really? Well… chakra is the energy that is made by combining the mental and physical energies of the body. At least, that is the basics of it. I never was that good with all the technical stuff about it. But it can be used in a bunch of ways! Like all the stuff I told you about when I told you about some of the missions I have been on."

"Do you think you can give us a few more examples of what your chakra can do?"

"Sure, I guess." Replied Naruto, scratching the back of his head. "Well, I already showed you the clones and the Rasengan… what else can I show you?" He muttered to himself, now having assumed a thinking pose that involved him scratching his chin while looking toward the ground. "Oh, I know! When a shinobi uses chakra, they can also control elements to a certain extent. So I can cover my kunai in wind chakra and make it able to go through more stuff. See, watch."

With that said, he whipped out one of his few remaining kunai, causing the party's pony to once more back away slowly. He proceeded to cut it in a healthy amount of wind chakra, rubbing the chakra against itself and creating a much sharper, and slightly longer, blade. Then, picking another helpless rock that was nearby, he tossed the knife in a manner that showed a lifetime's worth of practice. It sliced through the poor rock as if it was no more than a piece of paper being pierced by an elven blade. Once again the group stared in shock at the hole that had been placed into the innocent victim. Naruto jogged over and picked his blade back up, twirled it in his fingers and then slid it back into its holster in one fluid movement.

"We can also use it to make us stronger and faster and stuff." He explained.

In order to give an example of this, he began to pump some chakra into his legs, and after a moment took a leap into the air. Well, it might have been a leap for Naruto, but to the others he might as well have been flying, as he jumped to a height of around 20 feet. A decent jump for a shinobi, but not truly all that impressive. But to the hobbits and Aragorn, it once again left them in a stupor.

"We can also walk on trees and water and such, but I can't really show you since there is no water around, and these trees wouldn't really be able to hold me up." Said Naruto, once again scratching the back of his head.

"I believe you have shown us quite enough, Naruto. Perhaps at another time you can share more if you so wish. For now, perhaps we should carry on. We are still a few days travel from the River Hoarwell, or Mitheithel as the Elves call it. And from there we still have a few days journey till Rivendell." Said Aragorn, still thinking about the feats he had just witnessed. He would not have believed them if he had not seem them for himself.

And so the party again began their trek. Nothing special happened during the next few days. Pack up and eat in the early morning, and starting off just as the sun rose. Travel until the sun had gone down and set up camp. Twice, Naruto and Aragorn had left to hunt for creatures, in an attempt to help keep their rations around longer. While they might have had enough for the journey when they left Bree, they had not expected to have to feed another, so their supplies would have to be used carefully in order to last. As they walked, there was occasionally light chatter, mostly among the hobbits. Naruto simply listened in and tried to pick out what ever information possible all the while practicing with his Rasengan. While many had always thought of him as stupid, with age he had come to learn some of the important things that came with the shinobi profession, one of such being the importance of information. He did not really gather anything useful from their discussions, but he still paid attention just in case. They had also yet to see hide not hair of the Nazgul, although Aragorn was hard pressed to believe that they had ridden themselves of the monstrosities that easily. Five days after leaving Weathertop, the party finally reached a pointed where they could see the River Hoarwell.

"From here we must return to the road for a while." Announced Aragorn. "The only area to cross the Mitheithel from this point is over the Last Bridge. If you look, you shall also see the Loudwater, or the Bruinen of Rivendell. To the south, both rivers merge into what most call the Greyflood, which flows down into sea. I do not yet have a plan to cross the Loudwater, but we shall think of that after crossing Mitheithel. One river at a time. Hopefully we shall not find the Last Bridge held against us."

And so they once again set off. The next morning they once again reached the road, and then began to follow it toward the river. A few miles farther and the bridge finally came into sight. Though Aragorn feared they would find their way blocked by the Ringwraiths, they saw no one impeding their path. Aragorn had the party hide while Naruto went on ahead to scout for any opposition. At first Aragorn had wanted to be the scout, but after a few minutes of discussion, Naruto was able to convince him to let him do the job.

Naruto ran on ahead, much quicker than most men, and as quietly as any elf could boast. He took several minutes to scour the area and make sure there was no one waiting to ambush the group. Once he was certain no one else was there, he took one more look around to make sure he had not missed anything. While he was doing this, he had noticed something in the mud, in the middle of the bridge. Upon closer inspection, he discovered a pale-green jewel. Not knowing what to do with it, but feeling that something so out of place might be important, he tucked it away and sped back off to the others. It only took him a minute to get back.

"Coast is clear. Only thing I found out of place was this thing. It was stuck in the mud out on the bridge." Naruto reported, pulling out the jewel and handing it to Aragorn.

"This is an elf-stone, known as a beryl." Said Aragorn, having inspected the jewel for a few minutes. "While we don't know how it came to be in such a place, I believe that we can take it as a sign that we can safely cross here. But unless we receive another sign, I believe it would be best to once again leave the road once we pass."

The crossed without a problem and continued on the path for a while, finally leaving the path once they came across a ravine that led to the north. Here they were met with scenery of dark trees and hills. They also noticed many ruins of old towers scattered throughout the wilderness.

"So who built all this stuff anyway?" asked Naruto. "Doesn't look like they took very good care of it."

Looking around, Frodo was reminded of his Uncle Bilbo's stories, specifically the part pertaining to trolls.

"Was it the trolls, Strider?" he asked, still looking around.

"No." was Aragorn's quick response. "Trolls do not build. No, the people who built these towers were men who once dwelled here, long ago, but eventually became evil. Now no one lives here."

As they continued on, their pace began to slow. While Aragorn and Naruto had no problems traversing the terrain, the hobbits were finding it difficult to travel among the fallen trees and many rocks. Luckily, they were able to cut some time from their journey by climbing at multiple places, were as otherwise they would have had to go around and lose a few days. Naruto was especially useful here, caring the hobbits while using his surface walking. He offered the same to Aragorn, but he simply chuckled and said he would be fine. The pony, however, did not seem to enjoy this mode of travel, despite the necessity of it. They were making good time, though after two days it began to rain. By nightfall, the entire party had been soaked, which did not help with moods. But by pushing forward and keeping their good pace, their spirits were lifted slightly. Eventually, the terrain became too much for the party. Luckily, by now the rain had passed onto the north. After discussing the risks, they decided that taking to the road again was most likely their best course. It took them half a day to find their way back, and they then proceeded very carefully along the route. That night they went a fair distance from the road to set camp, and again returned to it with the light of day. Once again they travelled for the day, and were looking for a place that was out of the way of the road to rest for the night, when Naruto heard a noise approaching from a distance. Coming to a stop suddenly, the others looked at him wondering what the problem was.

"What is it now?" asked an impatient Sam.

"Shh!" came the quiet reply. "I hear something."

Everyone stilled, while Pippin and Merry even went so far as to hold their breath, though Naruto doubted they even noticed. After a few moments of silence, Naruto was finally able to distinguish the noise.

"It is a horse, only one." He said.

The hobbits kept their looks of fright, but Aragorn suddenly seemed very happy.

"Which direction do they ride from?" he asked hurriedly. Naruto pointed and he ran forward and put his ear to the ground. "That is no horse of a Nazgul." He said, jumping back to his feet, still very happy.

They waited a few more moments and the rider rode past, when suddenly Aragorn jumped through the bushes and out onto the road. Before he need say a word, the rider turned and galloped back. The figure, who was dressed well but obviously for travel, jumped from his horse and ran to meet him. The rider said something that Naruto could not understand, but he had to admit that their voice had a quality to the likes of which he had never heard. Next to him he heard Frodo mutter "An elf" under his breath, a look of wonder on his face.

Aragorn motioned for the others to join him and the apparent Elf. They left the cover of the shrubbery and made their way to the road, the hobbits in a rush (yes, even Sam!), while Naruto was at a more sedate pace, with a hand ready to grab a kunai at but a moment.

"This is Glorfindel, who lives in Rivendell." Introduced Aragorn.

"Well met, travelers." Glorfindel said. "I was sent from Rivendell to find your party. We were concerned something might have happened when we received word that the Nine had been sited abroad by some of our brethren."

"Do you know if Gandalf has made it to Rivendell then?" asked an excited Frodo.

"Unfortunately I do not, but it is now eight days since I left to find your party. I was to take the road, while others split up to search through the wilderness for you. Seven days ago I crossed the Last Bridge and left a token. But I also found three of Sauron's servants upon the bridge. I pursued them when they withdrew, but they were able to escape. I then came across two more, but they too fled. But then I was finally able to find your trail, and follow it across the Last Bridge. From there, I found your trail from yesterday, when you came back down onto the road. We must now be quick, for we have five of the Wraiths behind us, and once they too discover your trail, they shall fly after us like the wind. We must take the road with all haste possible."

At this urging, the company pushed on through the night and into the next day. That night, they rested for only a few hours before pushing off again. It was hard work for the hobbits, and it was apparent that they would not be able to continue on much longer at such a pace. It was on the second day after meeting with the Elf that the enemy caught them. It was just as they had passed through a gate of darkness that was cast on the road by the many trees overhead. As they passed through, they saw the mile or so stretch that stood between them and their goal, the Ford of Rivendell. The wind picked up and whipped through the trees, causing Glorfindel to turn his head and listen. After a moment, he snapped back forward and was off, his horse following beside him.

"Run! The enemy is upon us!"

The others took off as well, running down the slope below them, doing their best not to stumble. The Elf took the front, while Naruto and Aragorn took up the rear, leaving the hobbits in the center and the most guarded. They had made it halfway across the expanse when they heard the horses of the Wraith's. They turned and watched as one of the black riders appeared from the gate of trees they had left not too long ago, followed by two more, and then another two.

"So what is the plan? Are we gonna fight them, or run away?" Naruto asked Aragorn, secretly hoping they would finally get to whip these creeps' asses. But it was Glorfindel who answered him.

"We shall flee. It is crazy to challenge the Nazgul in a fight. Also, we don't know where the other four are hiding. Our best chance is to cross the Bruinen and cross into the safety of the land of Rivendell."

"Fine, we'll do it your way. I bet I could take them though." Muttered Naruto, disappointed in the lack of action. "But if we are gonna run from these guys, we are gonna have to pick up the pace." He continued with a wicked grin.

"And how do you plan to speed up our escape?" asked the elf.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that, just leave it to me. You should just jump on that horse of yours and hope it can keep up."

"Please. There is nothing on the land that is faster than an elven horse, even the mounts of the Nazgul are unable to match their speeds. And even if you could, what of the others? Would you leave them here to their demise?"

"Like I said, don't worry about it. I can handle this."

Then, with his trademark foxy grin, our blonde hero made a crossed seal and 6 clones popped into existence. Four of them picked up the hobbits and slung them around to ride on their backs, one picked up the distressed pony, and the last picked up a wide eyed Aragorn and flung him up onto its shoulder, leaving the original with open hands. Still grinning, he turned back to the shocked elf and quirked a brow.

"Well, you jumping on your horse or what? You realize they are coming after us now, right?"

Turning, Glorfindel saw that the he was indeed correct; the five riders were now galloping down the slope toward them. Jumping up onto his horse, he took off. Turning to look, he was again surprised to see that all of the blondes were actually keeping up with his stead. They had reached about the halfway mark when the four last riders burst out of the trees from on the left and a bit ahead. Though they had an advantage in speed, it was obvious that they would run into the 4 ambushers. That is until a yellow flash appeared out of the corner of his eye, and Glorfindel saw the original Naruto running right up to them at an even greater speed.

"Hell ya! I still get to kick your ugly asses!" he shouted, jumping into the air and slamming into the first two with a chakra enhanced spinning kick to the chest. He continued onward with his trajectory, smashing his fist into the face of the third. By the time his feet had once again met the ground, the first three had been sent flying, while the last was attempting to flee. Seeing that his companions were now out of danger, he decided to finish off the last one before rushing off to join them. Going through a quick sequence of hand seals, he sucked in a large breath of air.

"**Futon: Renkudan (Air Release: Drilling Air Bullet)!**" he yelled, shooting a large bullet of condensed air screaming after the fleeing enemy. The others stared on in amazement as the attack sent both rider and mount tumbling out of control.

Turning quickly, Naruto once again joined the others just as they crossed over the river. Showing the original party that he had not been lying, every one of the blondes proceeded to simply run across the water of the river to the other side. As soon as the elf and his horse crossed, they all heard a great gurgling sound coming from up the river, and turned to see a giant flood come rushing down, scattering the Ringwraiths who had attempted to follow the across. With the enemy gone, they still sped forward, following the elf for a few more miles, until they finally came to the crest of a hill and beheld a beautiful city bellow them. Running (or galloping, in one of the cases) down the entrance, they were met by a very regal looking Elf with long black hair wearing a fine robe and a crown.

Looking at the party as they stopped in front of him, and surprised to see 7 of what appeared to be one person, the person greeted them all in a regal voice.

"Hello, travelers. I am Lord Elrond, and this, is the city of the elves. Rivendell."

Suddenly, 6 of the of men who looked exactly the same, dropped their cargo, leaving four hobbits sprawled out on the ground, on rather old man on his hands and knees, and a rather disgruntled pony somehow on its back. The only remaining blond stepped forward.

"Sweet! Finally made it. That last bit was a bit fun atleast. So you guys got any good food in this place?"

END

Like I said, let me know what you guys think. Also, if you have any ideas, tips, anything, give me a review so I have a chance to get better. Especially if you notice grammar mistakes… Man I hate grammar…


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